Hoping for A Miracle and Praying for Nothing
by demonchild1856
Summary: Jack gets a new assistant that brings back that spark he hasn't felt for a while...FINAL CHAPTER IS UP!
1. Chapter 1

Jack McCoy sat in his office, running through a case file that had already taken him three days to write up and put together, when someone knocked on the door.  "Mr McCoy?" 

          "Yes, come in!" Jack called without looking up from his desk.

          One of the secretaries walked into the office and placed a slip of paper with a name and number scribbled onto it.  Jack looked from the paper to the secretary, twisting his face into a look of confusion.

          "It's the name and office number of your new assistant.  She's supposed to be here in an hour," the secretary said in reply to McCoy's silent question.

          "Oh, right," Jack said, putting the slip of paper off to the side.  "Come and get me when she arrives."

          "No need!" a young voice called from the door.  Jack looked up with a slightly annoyed expression on his face, but the expression quickly melted away.  Walking into his office was a woman, no older than 30, with bright blue eyes and shoulder length brown hair.  He sighed.  It was torture, the people Arthur hired to be his new assistant. 

          "Jack, this is Audra Dalle," the secretary said, forcing back a smile when she saw her boss' expression soften.

          "I think we narrowed that down," Jack said as his eyes followed Audra from the door to the couch off to the side of the office.  Faint memories of Claire escaped from his caged mind; he shook his head clear of the thoughts that still left a pang in his heart.

          "It's such an honor to be working with you, Mr McCoy," Audra said as she placed her bag and jacket next to her on the worn leather sofa.

          "Well, it's great to have you on board," Jack replied.  "And it's 'Jack' not 'Mr McCoy'. The only people who call me that are either in jail or should be."

          Audra laughed and smiled.  "I've heard your reputation for putting people behind bars is quite high," she said.  "I've also heard that you support the death penalty."

          "And I've gotten a lot of crap from some previous assistants about it, too.  It's totally ok if you don't support it; our work together will just be a lot more difficult when it comes to pleas," Jack explained.

          "Oh, I support the death penalty, its just the way that I believe it should be administered is probably different than yours," Audra said.

          "Then work should go at least a little bit smoother than it has for a few years."  Jack took the paper with Audra's name and office number in his and crushed it into a ball before tossing it into the trash bin.  "So you went to Harvard?" he asked, looking down at her resume.

          "Yeah.  My mom was a professor there, so I got in pretty cheap," she answered.

          Jack nodded and tried to pry his eyes back to the resume in front of him, but they were glued to Audra.  "And you took a law course in high school?"

          Audra nodded and stood to look at the degree from NYU on the wall.  She looked around the office; the leather couch she had been sitting on looked like it had been through years of wear and tear.  The bookshelves were loaded with cases and law books; scarce picture frames lined Jack's desk.  The office seemed like her co-worker lived in it; the blanket underneath the couch suggested that he sometimes did.

          "Something wrong?" Jack asked, his eyes continuing to follow Audra around the office.

          "No," Audra said, looking at Jack and making her way back to the couch.

          Jack smiled.  "What law course did you take in high school?"

          "'You and the law'.  It was really fun," Audra answered.  "I took it as a sophomore."

          Jack's eyes widened.  Most high school students he knew didn't get into law until their senior year.  "How many other kids took the course?" he asked, sliding the case file he had been looking at earlier into his bag.

          "About ten, but most of them were just taking it for credits.  I had read a few books in my freshman year that had a lot to do with the law, and I volunteered at the police department over the summer," Audra explained.

          Jack looked thoroughly pleased.  He also noticed that Audra had been accepted to the police academy, but hadn't passed.  He wondered if she was doing this for personal reasons as well as to get a good job.  He leaned back in his chair and put his feet on his desk, continuing to stare at Audra.  He hardly noticed that Audra was staring back.  Only a knock on the door broke the silence.

          "Come in," Jack said.

          Audra looked away and stared down at her hands.  She tried to pull herself together as she realized that they were shaking.  Gripping them tightly, she looked up and over at the door, where the Lieutenant of the police department was standing.

          "Am I interrupting anything?" the woman asked, closing the door behind her.

          "Not at all," Jack said, standing and taking the paper the woman handed to him.  "Audra Dalle, this is Anita Van Buren, Lieutenant of the 27th precinct.  Anita, this is Audra Dalle.  She's taking over for Serena."

          "Oh, well it's nice to meet you," Anita said, shaking Audra's hand.

          "You too," Audra said.

          "How is the suspect search coming along?" Jack asked, his eyes running over the list of names for possible suspects that Anita had handed him.

          "We have one guy that Lennie and Ed are trying to catch right now.  With any hope, we'll have him by the end of the day," Anita replied.  "If we have him, I'll give you a call."

          "Thanks," Jack said as Anita left.

          "Did I come in the middle of a case?" Audra asked, turning to Jack.

          "Just about," he answered.

          "What happened?"

          "A young man was found outside his apartment," Jack said.  "Half his face was ripped off and his heart was above his head.  Ed said Lennie almost had a heart attack."

          "Jesus," Audra said.  "How much evidence do we have to get an indictment?"

          "They found his prints on the floor around the victim and on the knife he had used, which was lying next to the heart," Jack explained.  "But there's a funny thing the police found that none of us really understand yet."

          "What?" Audra asked, taking a seat on the couch again.

          Jack smiled.  This girl hadn't been working for him for more than 5 minutes and already she was completely wrapped up in the case she knew almost nothing about.

          "What is it?" she asked again.

          "Two quarters were found on top of the man's eyes; another quarter was found in the victim's mouth.  All with the perp's prints on them.  Sound familiar to you at all?" Jack described, sitting next to Audra at a respectable distance.

          She nodded but looked confused.  "The ancient Greeks used to do that."

          "Do what? Cut people's hearts out?"

          "No! They used to put coins either in the mouths or over the eyes of the deceased so they could pay the ferryman to cross the river Styx and continue on to the afterlife," Audra explained, "but nobody's done that for centuries."

          "Maybe our perp has a thing for history? Maybe he's Greek?" Jack suggested, still not sure of where his new assistant was coming from.

          "Maybe.  Or he could have been following a ritual.  But who knows.  We won't know until we talk to him," Audra said as the phone rang.

          "McCoy," Jack said as he answered it.  "Yeah?  All right…Yep…we'll be right over."  He hung up the phone and smiled at Audra.  "We got him.  Come on, your first criminal interrogation!"

          Audra laughed at pulled on her jacket, following Jack out to the elevator. She liked him.  He was nice, funny, attractive, and seemed like he was going to respect her.  She looked forward to a really fun and challenging time.

          Jack held the taxi door open for Audra and they walked into the 27th Precinct.  Jack recognized many of the officers as they walked through the office area to where Lennie Briscoe was standing.  He smiled at them and nodded over to Audra with a lost expression.

          "New assistant," Jack said as he put his back and jacket down on the floor. 

          "Detective Briscoe, but most people call me Lennie," he said.  "Nice to meet you, Audra."

          "Nice to meet you too Lennie," Audra said.  "Who's in there?" she asked, peering through the one-way window.

          "The guy sitting in the chair is Robert Blake.  We caught him asleep in his apartment.  Three empty Jack Daniels bottles were lying on the ground next to him," Lennie answered.  "And the other man is Detective Ed Green.  Partner in crime, in a sense."

          Audra laughed and stared at the victim.  "Blake looks like he came from high up-bringing.  What the hell is he doing cutting people's hearts out?"

          "He went to Yale, studied history.  Mainly--"

          "Greek?"

          Lennie nodded.  "Apparently he thought that it would work on his brother."

          Audra looked disgusted.  "His brother?" she turned to Jack, "You never told me that our perp murdered his brother!"

          "Slipped my mind," Jack said offhandedly as he listened closely to the conversation going on inside the interrogation room.

          _"What happened, __Blake__?"_  Ed asked, staring Blake in the face.

          Sighing, Blake said, _"__Ralph__ was trying to kill me.  He had been planning it for months.  He was angry at me, because I was the smart one, the one who got all the money the work I had done, even when he had done three times as much work as I had.  He didn't like having to live as a middle class citizen,"_ Blake explained.  Ed stared at him cynically.  _"It was in self defense, I swear!"_

          "Bullshit," Audra cursed under her breath.  Jack peered over at her and smiled.

          _"You're lying, __Blake__!  Nobody cuts out their brother's heart in self defense and then remembers to leave seventy-five cents in his mouth and on his eyes!"_ Green yelled.  _"Why did you kill your brother?"_

          "Excuse me, Mr McCoy," Anita said as she came around the corner with another woman.  "Blake's lawyer, everyone."  A woman in her early forties pushed her way past Audra and opened the door to the room.

          "Don't say another word, Robert.  Just come with me," she said, pulling Blake out of the room and out of sight.

          "Who was she?" Audra asked as she pulled her office door closed that evening.

          "Bailey Morris," Jack replied, tugging his coat on.  "Great defense attorney, until she starts to lose.  Then she starts to crack; she asks the questions that lead to her client's sentencing."

          "Oh," Audra said.  "Why would anyone hire her then?"

          "Because of the 'great defense attorney' part.  Not everyone knows that Bailey cracks when she's under pressure," Jack answered.  "You just have to know how much pressure to apply."

          Audra smiled as they waited for the elevator.  She pulled on her black jacket and put her hair up to get it out of her face.  The elevator doors pulled open and she and Jack stepped in.

          "Do you need a ride home?" he asked as the doors closed.

          "No, thanks.  I'll get a cab.  I only live a few blocks down the road," Audra replied.

          Jack nodded and leaned against the wall of the elevator, thinking.  _'What are you, crazy, __Jack__? You know what happened the last time.  __Claire__'s dead…'_  He closed his brown eyes only to see images of Claire.  He opened them again and looked at Audra, half-smiling, half-frowning.

          The elevator stopped and he and Audra left, walked down the stairs of the DA Building and went their separate ways.

          Audra waited out front to hail a taxi, but then decided that it was still light enough to walk.  After five minutes of slowly dragging her high-heeled feet down the sidewalk, she heard a motorcycle pull out of the alley beside the DA's office.  The man on the bike waved; Audra started to laugh when she realized that it was Jack.

          "What are you, crazy?"  she called, but he was too far away to hear her.  She laughed and kept walking.

          _'Jack's a really nice guy,'_ she thought.  She knew his reputation; he had had affairs with four of his other assistants.  He married one and had fathered a child to her before filing for divorce.  Another, Claire Kincaid, had been killed in a car accident because of a drunk driver.

          But then again, she had sat in on some of the trials he had prosecuted, and he always seemed very determined.  She didn't always agree with some of the opinions he presented, but his methods were strong.  He had earned the title "Death Trap Jack" in some of her classes at Harvard, but since she supported the death penalty, she didn't agree with the title.

          When Audra arrived at her apartment, her landlord was standing on the stoop holding a rose and a card.  "Some guy on a bike drove up and told me to give these to you," he said as he handed the gifts to Audra.

          "Thanks," she said, taking them in her free hand and walking up to her apartment.  She tore open the card and smiled as she read:          _Congratulations on surviving your first day as an __ADA__.  ~ __Jack_.  

She put the rose in a vase, threw her bag down on her kitchen table and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack walked past Audra's office, glancing through the blinds on her door.  He stopped and pressed his ear against the crack in the door and started to laugh as he heard an old David Bowie song slipping through it.  He opened the door and stood on the threshold, watching Audra dance around as she took a few books out of a box and place them on the bookshelf.

          "I can't even imagine you in a night club," he said, leaning on the doorjam.

          Audra jumped and dropped the book on her toe.  "Jesus, Jack!" she said, limping over to her couch and pulling over her shoe.  Jack started laughing and sat down next to her.

          "Sorry, I've just never seen any other ADA dancing around her office like that," he said as he watched Audra rub her sore toes.  "Are you ok?"

          Audra looked up.  "Yeah.  I just had every single legal term land on my foot, but I'm fine." She smiled; Jack laughed.  "How's the case coming along?" she asked.

          Jack shook his head.  "This guy is nuts.  It had to be premeditated.  No man can cut out a person's heart, leave it next to his head, and then remember to leave seventy-five cents. It's impossible."

          "I had a hard time buying that too.  Blake knew how the ancient Greeks did things, because he studied history…" Audra's voice trailed off; she quickly moved to her desk and ripped a sheet of paper off a notepad.  She scribbled something down before continuing, "He studied history, but he obviously doesn't know police procedures."

          "How many people know police procedures?" Jack asked, sprawling out on the couch.

          Audra could feel her face go red. _'Calm down,'_ she thought.  "Anyone who watches TV would know not to leave any evidence at the scene.  Blake didn't know the procedure, or he wouldn't have left his fingerprints all around the victim."  

          "You think it was premeditated too, then?" Jack asked.  "Where are you going with this, Audra?"

          "I'm not sure yet." Audra looked at the case file, the police report, and her own notes.  "We'll have to see what happens in court."

          "Which is where we are supposed to be in fifteen minutes.  Are you sure you're ready to second chair after a day?" Jack said, collecting himself and heading towards the door.

          "I'm sure," Audra said.

          "All right. Well, we're having a meeting with Blake's lawyer in a few seconds, so whenever you're ready," Jack said, pulling the door open.

          "I'm coming," Audra said, grabbing her file and following Jack out the door.  "Oh, by the way," she said before they entered his office, "thanks for the rose.  It was really sweet."

          Now it was Jack's turn to go red.  He shrugged it off and smiled, opening the door and walking in on Blake and Bailey arguing.

          "You said there was no way I would be found guilty if I agreed to the insanity plea!" Blake screamed.

          "Well there was no way I was to know that you had left seventy-five cents on the victim!  Sir, you're going to convict yourself!" Bailey exclaimed.

          "Hey!" Jack yelled. "What the hell is going on?"

          "McCoy! This is your entire fault! If you hadn't gone snooping around into my personal business and found out that I had majored in history, then--"

          "Mr Blake!" Jack said.  "Don't go digging yourself a grave over nothing. You're going to jail.  We're charging him with murder one.  It's the jury's choice whether or not he should receive the death sentence." He pulled on his suit coat.  "We're needed in court." He walked out the door with Audra in tow.

(end chapter three)

          Audra sat second chair and watched Jack as he got up to give his closing argument.  The trial had taken a week to close; Blake had fired his lawyer after two days, and then had called for two recesses.  He had finally cracked.

          "Robert Blake murdered his brother in cold blood," Jack was saying.  "Nothing will change that.  He knew what he was doing when he cut out Ralph Blake's heart; he knew what he was doing when he placed the quarters over his brother's eyes and in his mouth.  He remembered the Greeks, for god's sake, and their methods of preparing a man for his journey to the afterlife." He took a minute to let the effect settle on the jury before he continued.  "If the defendant is allowed to walk away from this court room without a conviction, who knows what he may do to the next man whom he believes is trying to kill him?  Ladies and gentlemen, I will leave you with this: Robert Blake had planned the murder of his brother almost three weeks before the murder took place."  His eyes swept up and down the jury before sitting down.  The jury filed out and court was allowed to speak.

          "Lovely closing argument, McCoy," Robert said, "but I think mine was better."

          Jack smiled and swung around to look at Audra.  In the one week they had known each other, his feelings for her had grown.  Every time he passed her in the hall, every time he went over something for court, his heartbeat sped up.  He didn't want to have feelings for another assistant, but he did.

          "What?" she said.

          "Nothing." He rested his head on his hand and continued to stare at her.  Audra smiled and looked down at her notes.

          As much as she wanted to, Audra wasn't going to let herself develop more feelings for Jack than necessary.  She didn't want to be thought of as another affair.  She didn't want to add to his reputation.  Plus, she hardly knew him.

          "Something wrong?" Jack asked.

          "No, why?" Audra said.

          "I have a knack for seeing when something's wrong with someone," he answered, slouching in his chair and loosening his tie a bit.  "Is something wrong?" he asked again.

          "No!" Audra said, smiling.  "Should something be wrong?"

          "No," Jack answered.

          Audra shook her head and looked up as the jury walked back into the courtroom.  Jack sat up and straightened his tie, staring at them.

          "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, on the count of murder in the first degree, how do you find?" the judge asked.

          "We find the defendant, Robert Blake, guilty," the jury spokesperson answered.

          "You are aware that the sentence for this conviction is death?" the judge said.

          "We are, your honor," the woman said.

          Jack sat back in his chair as the jurors and the gallery began to empty out of the courtroom.  Blake was cuffed and pulled out, kicking and screaming.  The judge retired to her chambers, leaving Audra and Jack alone in the courtroom.

          "So, your first trial is your first death sentence," Jack said, sitting up on the table.  "How do you feel about that?"

          Audra shrugged and started to doodle on her notepad.  "Fine, I guess.  He deserved it," she replied.

          Jack nodded.  "Audra what the hell is the matter?" he asked.  "You've been quite the entire time; you've hardly said a word to me since yesterday.  Did I do something to upset you?"

          Audra shook her head and continued to doodle.

          "Then what is it?" Jack asked, looking her in the eye.

          Audra sighed.  "Three years ago I was clerking for an ADA in Boston.  He was really nice and I looked up to him, because I was hoping to be an ADA the following year."

          Jack looked at her quizzically.  "And…?"

          "Three months into the job, we started having an affair.  Two months into the affair, and I find out that he's married! So I had to quit my job, find a new one, and pray that he wouldn't tell anyone," Audra explained.

          Jack could feel his cheeks going red. _'Crap,'_ he thought.  "What does that have to do with me?" he asked.

          Audra raised her eyebrows.  "Oh come on, Jack.  I'm not stupid." She put her papers into her bag and pushed her chair in, but didn't go anywhere.

          "Then I must be, because I have no idea what you're talking about," Jack said quietly.  

          Audra stood still, confused and embarrassed.  Not thinking, she kissed Jack on the lips and then started to walk out of the courtroom.

          "Oh, _now _I know what you were talking about!" he called after her, laughing quietly to himself.  At least now he didn't have to be too secretive around her; she _had _ kissed him.  That must have meant she had feelings for him as well.  

          Collecting his things, Jack walked out of the empty courtroom and out into the hallway, where several janitors were cleaning up, sweeping the floor and sanitizing the payphones.

          "She just left, Mr McCoy," one of them said.  "Looked really flustered…her face was bright red."

          Jack smiled.  He couldn't remember the last time he had made someone go bright red except when they were lying to him on the stand or in his office.  Other than that, the last person was probably Claire.

          Thinking of Claire brought back painful memories.  He tried not to remember that this was the exact reason that he didn't want to get into another relationship with someone inside his office.  Either they left the office for another job, or things just started to get messy; everyone in Jack's building plus a few judges and other lawyers all knew about his reputation for having a thing for his assistants.  He didn't want to subject Audra to that; he didn't think it would be fair for her to have a black mark on her record like him.

          Jack walked out the front door and headed down to his bike.  He drove home in the dark, hoping for a miracle and praying for nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

Audra slammed the taxi door shut, paid the driver, and walked up the steps to her apartment.  She started to rummage through her bag for her keys but couldn't seem to find them.

          "Shit," she swore, tearing through her purse and bag for her keys but turning up empty handed.  _'I must have left them at the office, and the office should be locked by now,'_ she thought.  She looked up at the windows in the building; all of them were black, meaning that nobody was awake.  The last time she had tried to wake her landlord, she had been threatened with eviction.  _'Jack,_' she thought as she pulled out her address book.  Flipping through it to the M's, she found Jack's address and called again for a cab.

          Ten minutes after her call, another taxi pulled up to the curb; Audra hopped in and told the driver where to go.

          _'What are you doing?' _she thought to herself as they started to pick up speed.  _'You told yourself that you wouldn't get involved with him.  Now you're going to his house? Are you mad?'_  She shook the thoughts away and pulled her hair up, waiting to arrive at Jack's house.

          Jack was pulling on a black tee shirt when he heard the car pull up to the house.  He peered out of his bedroom window and watched as somebody got out of a yellow taxi and walked up the steps.  He walked downstairs and opened the door as the bell rang.

          "Audra?" he asked, confused.

          Audra smiled at him from the other side of the threshold.  "Hi," she said.

          "Er…come in," Jack said, opening the door and stepping out of her way.

          "Look, I know it's late, but I locked my keys in my office and I can't get into my apartment," she explained.  "Do you think I could borrow your keys so I can get into my office?"

          Jack smiled.  "Sure.  Do you want a ride over?" he asked as he grabbed his jacket and keys.

          "On your two-wheeled bike of doom?" Audra said sarcastically.  "Sure, why not."

          Jack grabbed the extra helmet from the closet and handed it to Audra, who was pulling her bag over her head.  "Thanks," she said.

          "Follow me," Jack said, opening the door and walking out to the small garage, pushed the door up, and pulled a dark blue Yamaha out.  Audra smiled and stifled a laugh.

          "What's funny?" Jack asked.

          "Nothing," she answered, putting on her helmet.

          Jack smiled and started up the bike.  He rolled it out onto the street and moved up in the seat to let Audra sit down.  She wrapped her arms around his waist and he pulled out of the driveway.

          _'I wonder if she really forgot her keys,'_ Jack thought as he drove through the city, _'or if she just wanted to see me again.'_  He felt Audra's grip tighten as they went around a sharp curve.  He smiled and sped up as they pulled onto the next street.

          They pulled up to the DA building within ten minutes of leaving Jack's house.  Jack rolled his bike into the alley and then followed Audra up to the front door.

          "You know, I swore I'd never let myself get on a motorcycle," she said as Jack unlocked the door.

          "Why is that?" he asked, pushing it open and walking into the main lobby.

          "My dad had one; he got in an accident when he collided with a drunk driver," Audra explained.  "Dad died, and the guy who hit him got off with a DUI and the reckless endangerment charges were dropped for lack of evidence."

          "I'm sorry to hear that," Jack said as they stopped in front of Audra's office.  When he tried the knob, it was locked.  He looked up.  "How do you expect to get in without breaking the door down?"

          "Easy," she answered.  Pulling a paper clip and a bobby pin out of her bag, Audra quickly picked the lock of her office door.  Jack heard a faint _click!_ and the door swung open.

          "Why didn't you just do that at the apartment?" he asked.

          "At this time of night?  Someone would have called the cops on me!" Audra laughed as she pulled open one of her desk drawers and grabbed her keys.  "Found them."

          "Yay," Jack said sarcastically.  "Now can we leave?" Audra nodded.

          "So was your father's death the reason you joined the police academy?" Jack asked as he walked Audra up the stairs to her apartment.

          "Nope," she answered.

          "Well, then what _was_ the reason?" Jack asked.

          Audra sighed.  "My _real_ father raped my mother.  That's how she had me.  I'm the product of rape.  My mom loved me enough not to abort me and to give birth, but she didn't love me enough to keep me," she explained.  "All I know is that she was sixteen."  She opened the door to her apartment.  Jack followed her in.

          "I'm sorry," he said, embarrassed.  "It wasn't my place to ask."

          "No, its fine," Audra said.  "When I didn't pass at the police academy I figured that if I couldn't enforce the law, then I could help protect it.  That's when I went to Harvard to get my masters in law."  She threw her keys down on the counter, along with her bag and coat, and turned on the light.

          Jack looked around; the place was a mess.  Books and papers were everywhere; the sink was full of dishes and from where he was standing, the bed hadn't been made for a while.

          "Sorry about the mess.  Do you want a drink?" Audra asked.

          Jack shook his head.  "Thanks, but I should probably be getting back.  But we've got tomorrow off if you want to go out to lunch or something," he suggested.

          Audra smiled.  "Are you asking me out?" she asked.

          "Maybe," Jack replied.

          "I'll give you a call around eleven.  Is that ok with you?" she said.

          Jack nodded.  "See you later," he said, heading for the door.

          "'Night!" Audra called.  She watched Jack walk down the stairs before closing the door.  She threw herself into her bedroom, pulled on a nightshirt, and went to sleep.

          Jack pulled his bike up the driveway and into the garage; he walked into the house and back up to his bedroom, but couldn't fall asleep.  He lay there in his bed, staring at the ceiling, seriously considering what he could be getting himself into.  He knew what could happen.

          He didn't care.

          But his mind was drifting onto more important problems, like how Audra was a rape child.  He didn't think that anyone who had been conceived so horribly could get along living a normal life.  Unless, of course, she hadn't known until she was old enough to comprehend what had happened.

          Jack shook his head and rolled over onto his side.  He stared momentarily at the photos on his bedside table; him and Claire only a week before her accident, he and his ex-wife, his mother and father outside their home in Chicago, his daughter.  He blinked back tears and closed his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Audra rolled out of bed around 9:30.  She dragged herself into the kitchen and put some coffee in the microwave.  Chugging the liquid caffeine, she put the empty cup in the sink and walked to the bathroom to take a shower.

          Jack was the only person that Audra had told about her parents, besides some friends in college.  She had never trusted any of her boyfriends with her secret, whether or not they were going out.  Jack was different.  She trusted him not to tell.

          Quickly rinsing her hair, she turned the water off and towelled herself dry.  She stared at herself in the mirror, wondering if she knew what she was getting herself into.  Did she want to have another affair?  Didn't she want to have a _real _relationship, one that would mean something further down the road?

          She shook her head and got dressed, not once looking at the clock.  She had decided that she was going to go to lunch with Jack, even if nothing happened.  She was strongly attracted to him, that was all that mattered at the moment.

          After leaving the bathroom, Audra picked up the phone and dialled Jack's number.

          "Hello?" Jack said, picking up the phone.

          _"Hi, it's __Audra__."_  As if he didn't know who it was when she said 'hi'.

          "Good morning," Jack said, collapsing into a chair in the living room.  He ran a hand through his damp grey hair; he had just gotten out of the shower.

          _"Do you still want to go to lunch?" _Audra asked.

          Jack smiled.  "Where do you want to meet?"

          _"I was thinking Vietnamese,"_ Audra answered.  _"I know a great place on the corner of 59th.  If you're skilled with chopsticks, that is."_

          Jack smiled.  "Vietnamese it is. I'll come by to pick you up in a half an hour. Ok?"

          _"Sounds like a plan to me," _Audra said.  _"See you in a half an hour."_

          Jack turned the cordless phone off and leaned forward in the chair, running his hands through his hair once again.  He smiled as he looked at the photo of him speaking to the press the day after Blake's sentencing, with Audra standing next to him.  She was strong-willed and determined to get the job done, even if she went against her morals.

          Walking back to the kitchen, Jack dumped the rest of his coffee down the drain of the sink and headed out to the garage.  He pulled out of the driveway and onto the street.

          Ten minutes later, Jack pulled up to Audra, who was sitting on the stoop of her apartment building.  She stood up and brushed off the back of her blue jean; Jack couldn't help but look her up and down, smiling.  She didn't look like she worked for him.  She looked like a teenager; hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, a dark purple tee shirt with a large "A" embroidered onto it, blue jeans, and sneakers.  A sweatshirt was tied around her waist.

          "Hi," she said, pulling on the helmet Jack handed her.

          "Hi," he answered, moving up in the seat.

          "Do you know where to go?" Audra asked, wrapping her arms tightly around Jack's waist.

          He nodded.  "Just point when you see the place," he answered.

          "All right," Audra said.  Jack revved up the bike and pulled away from the curb.

          Jack loved the feel of the wind on his face and the adrenaline he felt every time he took a sharp turn.  He wanted to turn around and look at Audra, but having her arms around his waist was comfort enough for the time being.  He could feel her head resting against his shoulderblade as they flew down 59th.

          Audra leaned her head against Jack's shoulder and sighed, even though she knew he wouldn't hear it.  She closed her eyes for a moment, briefly dreaming of what life could be like with Jack.  She opened her eyes again as they started to slow down. 

          "Are we here?" she called over the engine.

          Jack nodded and pulled up in front of the restaurant.  He parked the bike and pulled off his helmet; Audra jumped off and rested her helmet on the seat to fix her hair.

          "Should we bring these in with us?" she asked, pointing to the helmets.

          Jack dot off the bike; "Yeah, that would be a good idea," he answered, picking up his helmet and heading into the restaurant.  A waiter led them to a booth next to the window, so Jack could keep an eye of his bike.

          Audra handed him a menu and then looked at her own; two seconds later she knew what she was getting.

          "Come here often?" Jack asked over his menu.

          "All the time," she replied, "and I always get the same thing."

          "And that would be?" Jack asked.

          "Beef soup with rice noodles," Audra answered.  "It's pretty good."

          "Well then I guess I'll get the same thing," Jack said, folding his menu and looking for the waiter.  "Where is he?"

          "I have to go up and order.  What do you want to drink?" Audra asked, standing up and taking Jack's menu.

          "Um…soda?" he said.

          "Any specific kind?"

          "Coke."

          "All right, I'll be right back." Audra walked up to the counter, put in the order, and came back with two sodas.

          "How long do you think it'll take?" Jack asked.

          "Five minutes tops," Audra replied.  "Why are you in such a rush?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

          "No reason!" he said.  "There's something I wanted to show you, that's all."

          Audra smiled. "We'll be out of here by twelve-thirty at the latest," she said.  Jack smiled back at her.

          "We have another case on our hands," he said.

          "What is it this time?" Audra asked, taking a sip of her Coke.

          "A seventeen-year-old girl allegedly murdered her older brother," Jack explained.  "Police haven't collected all the evidence yet, and ballistics still doesn't have what kind of gun the girl used.  But apparently, her prints are all over the crime scene."

          "Where was her brother shot?" Audra asked.

          "In his bedroom.  He was sprawled out on the floor with a hole through his chest when the maid came in to clean the house.  She almost cleaned the scene," Jack answered.

          "I hate these kinds of cases.  Stupid rich kids who think that they rule the world, and then the world doesn't go the way they want it to go, and they think the world owes them," Audra sighed as their soup arrived.  "Dig in," she said.

          Jack laughed as they started to eat.  The charge brought against the girl was murder one; police had found the girl's diary, and there were several entries showing different ways in which she was going to try to kill her brother.  Several of them had been tried and failed.  Looked like the last one worked.

          "So where exactly did you want to take me?" Audra asked as she pulled her helmet on.

          "It's a surprise," Jack answered as they pulled away from the curb.

          Audra shook her head and leaned against Jack's shoulder.  They hadn't talked much through lunch, except when Jack had a rice noodle hanging out of his mouth.  Audra couldn't help but laugh at that; Jack had been totally oblivious to it for five minutes before she had said anything.

          Speeding along Park Ave, Jack pulled into a parking garage and locked the bike up, then pulled a bandana over Audra's eyes, blindfolding her.

          "What are you doing?" she asked as Jack dragged her up the stairs and out into a park.

          "Keeping the surprise a surprise," Jack replied.  He took her hand and guided her through Central Park.  A few people stared, but then again, people knew who Jack McCoy was, so they didn't think anything too out of the ordinary.

          "Come on, Jack!" Audra said, laughing and grabbing for the blindfold.  She pulled the bandana off her face and gasped.

          Surrounding the two of them was a huge apple tree in full bloom.  Hundreds of white and pink blossoms turned the sunlight into streaks of gold and pink.  Jack sat down on one of the park benches and smiled at Audra as she slowly took in the beauty of the little grove he had discovered after the history professor he had been dating ended the relationship.

          "Jack…" Audra said, sitting next to him and absentmindedly taking his hand.  "It's beautiful!"

          Jack shrugged.  "I guess.  It's even prettier when the roses are in bloom," he said.

          "When did you find this?" Audra asked.

          "While looking for a quiet place to work," he replied.  "You like it?"

          Audra nodded and closed her gaping mouth.  "I love it," she said quietly.  She turned to kiss Jack on the cheek, but he caught her and kissed her lightly on the lips.

          Audra pulled away and rested her head on Jack's shoulder.  "Thanks," she said quietly.

          "No problem," Jack replied.

(end chapter 7)

          Later that night, Jack was going over papers for the case when the phone rang.

          "Hello?" he said.

          "_Hi Dad_!" a young female voice said.

          "Hey Kate!  How's Egypt?" Jack smiled as he heard his daughter's voice crack through the phone.

          "_It's awesome!  We're going on a tour of the pyramids later today_," Kate answered.  Kate was majoring in history at Columbia University, but was on another class trip; this time it was to see all the Egyptian ruins.

          "That's great!  Meet any cute Egyptian boys over there?" Jack asked in a goofy tone.

          "_Dad_!" Kate said, laughing.

          "I'm kidding.  How is everything?"

          "_Just dandy.__  Yesterday we went on a mock-dig; apparently I broke King Tut's arm_," Kate replied.

          "Good job," Jack said sarcastically.

          "_The food here is fantastic, the people are really nice, and everyone is getting along perfect_," Kate explained.

          "Well, that's always a good sign," Jack said, getting up to make himself a cup of tea.

          "_Hold on a sec, Dad_," Kate said.  "_What_?" her muffled voice called to someone in the background.  "_Hey, sorry Dad, but I have to go_."

          "It's fine.  When you get back we can go out to lunch and you can tell me all about it," Jack said.

          "_Ok_," Kate said.  "_Dad_?"

          "Yeah?"

          "_I love you_."

          "I love you too, Kate," Jack said, smiling.

          "_I'll see you when I get back_," Kate said.

          "Bye."  Jack hung up the phone and poured his tea.  He walked back into the living room and continued to look over his papers.

          Kate was born from his first marriage, but Jack had left before Kate really grew up.  Her mother moved them to Boston, and Jack could only see Kate on the weekends.  When she turned eighteen she moved to New York to be closer to her father and to attend Columbia.  Jack gave her the option of staying in her room at his house, but he completely understood when she said she wanted to stay in a dorm.  So she visited on the weekends and on holidays instead.

          Kate was a junior already, and had been to four different countries for her history classes.  Jack wished she would come home soon so he could see her again.

          "So how's our little murderer doing?" Audra asked Ed as she walked into the 27th.

          "Oh, the little psycho is doing just fine," he replied.

          "Did ballistics recover what kind of gun was used?" Audra asked, peering into the interrogation room.

          "Normal handgun to deliver the killing shot," Ed answered.  "But she stabbed him multiple times beforehand.  Bruising around the wrists show that he had been tied to the headboard; there was major struggling before he was shot.  She untied him after he died."

          "Jesus," Audra whispered.  She looked back into the interrogation room.  "Do we know where she got the gun?"

          "It was registered to her brother, actually," Anita said.  "He bought it three weeks ago and registered it last week.  But her prints were all over it."

          "What's her name?" Jack asked, walking back over from the interrogation room with Lennie.

          "Danielle McGraw," Anita replied.

          "Well, does Danielle know she's down for murder one?" Jack asked.

          Audra turned to Jack.  "You mean life without parole, right?" she asked.

          "No, I don't.  According to her birth certificate, she'll be eighteen tomorrow.  Eligible for capital punishment," Jack replied as he handed Audra the girl's birth certificate.

          "But Jack, this girl has got her entire life ahead of her! You can't just end it here!" Audra argued, following Jack back over to the interrogation room.

          "I thought you were _for _the death penalty," Jack said.

          "I am, when it applies to people who have lived a little! She's seventeen, Jack! She hasn't even graduated high school yet!" Audra yelled.

          "Well she should have thought about that before she murdered her brother for no reason," Jack said severely before opening the door to the interrogation room.  Audra sighed and walked back over to Lennie and Ed.

          "I'm going home early.  Tell Jack that I'm not in the mood to discuss killing people," she said, collecting her things and leaving the 27th.  Once out on the sidewalk, she pulled out her cell phone and called her friend Olivia Benson, a detective for the Special Victims Unit.


	5. Chapter 5

          "_Benson__._"

          "Hi, Olivia?  It's Audra."

          "_Oh, hey!  What's up_?"  Olivia asked.

          "Are you busy?" Audra asked.

          "_Not at the moment.  Why_?" Olivia replied.  "_Audra__ what's wrong_?"

          "It's about the case I'm working on.  Can you meet me at the coffee shop on Broadway in ten minutes?"  Audra asked.

          "_Yeah.  I'll see you there_," Olivia answered.

          "Thanks."  Audra closed her cell phone and sped up, walking quickly to where she had to meet Olivia.

          "So, what's up?"  Olivia asked.

          Audra sighed.  "How do you deal with cases that end up with the perp being served the death penalty on a silver platter?" she asked.

          Olivia looked down before saying, "I thank God that the perp isn't going to be able to continue his or her reign of terror."  She looked up at Audra.  "Why?"

          "Because Jack is putting this girl through hell by charging her with murder one.  But she's only 17," Audra replied.

          "Then she shouldn't have to get the injection.  She should go to jail for life," Olivia said.

          "But she'll be eighteen tomorrow.  So he's got every right," Audra explained.

          "Then what's the problem?" Olivia asked.

          "She's just eighteen!  She doesn't deserve to have her life taken away from her like that!" Audra argued.

          "Then think about this: did the person she murdered deserve to have their life taken away from them?" Olivia suggested.  "I know this is a difficult case, Audra.  But, if worse comes to worse, Jack is still your boss.  Sometimes you just have to do what's right for justice and not what you personally think is right."  She put a comforting arm around Audra's shoulders and they kept walking.  "Hey, I know what'll get your mind off this," she said.

          "What could?" Audra asked.

          "A little rock-wall climbing," Olivia replied, smiling.

          "Sweet," Audra said.  "But I don't have any clothes."

          "We can go by your apartment and pick some up," Olivia said as they got into her car.

          They drove down past Hogan Place and stopped in front of Audra's house.  She quickly ran up, grabbed some gym clothes and rushed downstairs as her landlord stepped out into the hall.

          "Hey, Dalle, slow your ass down," he said.  "Some guy dropped by looking for you.  He said if I saw you to tell you to get back to work."

          Audra shook her head and walked out the door.  She threw her clothes in the back seat and shut the front door.

          "What did he say?" Olivia asked as she pulled the car back onto the street.

          "Jack wants me to go back to work," she answered.  "Drop me off outside the building, ok?"

          "You want me to keep your clothes in here?"  Olivia asked.

          "Yeah.  We can go at the end of the day," Audra replied.

          "Ok.  Don't get into too much trouble," Olivia said, stopping in front of Hogan Place and unlocking the doors.

          "See you later," Audra said, grabbing her bag and walking up the stairs.  She took the elevator up to her floor and walked down the hallway to her office.  She opened the door and almost screamed when she saw Jack sitting on the couch.

          "Where the hell did you go?" he asked, looking at the floor.

          "I needed some air," Audra lied as she hung up her coat and tossed her bag on the floor next to her desk.

          "So, when you say you 'needed some air,' you had to leave the precinct and disappear for an hour to get some?" Jack asked, annoyed.

          "You have no right to talk to me like that, Jack.  I didn't agree with you and I still don't.  That girl doesn't deserve murder one with a death sentence.  The least we could do is just let her rot in jail," Audra said, sitting down behind her desk.

          "Try looking at this from my perspective.  We sentence her to death, and New York is free of another murderer.  If we put her in jail for life, then she could get out," Jack explained.  "It'll look better if--"

          "So this is for publicity?" Audra asked, shocked.

          "No! Jesus, Audra.  Do you really want her to escape or get out on appeals and go kill another relative?  A friend?  A total stranger?" Jack asked, leaning on Audra's desk.

          Audra sighed.  "Whatever, Jack.  Do what you feel is right.  You're the boss, after all," she said, pulling the case file and a notepad out of her desk drawer and leaning on her hand.

          Jack shook his head and stormed out of Audra's office.  He bumped into Arthur on the way to his own.

          "What was going on in there, Jack?"  Arthur asked.

          "Disagreement," Jack replied.

          "I heard shouting," Arthur said.

          "Yeah, well…"

          "Jack."

          "Its fine, Arthur," he said.  "We were just arguing over the sentencing for Danielle McGraw.  Audra thinks that we should give her life without the possibility of parole; I think that McGraw deserves the death penalty.  And now we're arguing about it."

          Arthur sighed.  "The people I hire to be your assistant, huh?" he said.

          Jack grinned.  "Yeah," he said quietly.

          Arthur crossed his arms.  "If I were you, I would leave it up to a jury.  Because, as you know, a jury may not go for the death penalty and then you would have to declare a mistrial, and double jeopardy doesn't allow you to charge a suspect for the same crime," he suggested.

          "I know," Jack said, opening the door to his office.  "I'll talk it over with Audra tomorrow.  See how she feels after a day."

          "Good idea," Arthur said, turning to head back to his own office.  "Oh, one last suggestion.  Don't try to force her to agree with you.  If she doesn't agree with your sentence, then leave it to the jury.  Because we both know that you're not going to go for anything less than a hanging."

          Jack smiled.  "Thanks, Arthur."  He packed his things up and pulled on his coat, preparing to go out for lunch.  Audra stopped him in his tracks, shaking her head and holding a piece of scrap paper, reading it over and over again.  "What is it?" he asked.

          Audra looked up.  "Our main witness just changed his story," she said.

          "_What?_" Jack snapped.  "What's his story now?"

          "He claims that he never saw McGraw walk out of the building with a bloody towel and bloody shoes.  He also claims that he might have seen the wrong woman walk into the building," she explained, reading off the slip of paper.  "Van Buren just called and told me."

          "He's covering.  Someone is making him do this," Jack said.  "Get him in here; we're going to have a little chat with him."

          "Right," Audra said.  She ran back into her office and dialed Van Buren's number.  "Anita? Yeah, it's Audra.  We need you to bring Maloney here…what?  What do you mean, he doesn't want to?  Jesus, all right…We'll be down there in ten minutes.  Yep.  Bye."  She hung up the phone and looked at Jack.

          "What?" he asked.

          "Mr Maloney doesn't want to come here.  He says that we have to go to him," she replied.

          "Good.  Then we can charge him with obstruction and keep him there," Jack said.  "Unless, of course, he wants to talk."

          Audra nodded and pulled her bag over her shoulder.  She shut the office door and followed Jack into the elevator.  They didn't talk at all during the ride down and only spoke while they were hailing a cab.  They pushed through the doors of the 27th and walked into Anita, who was standing outside the interrogation room, arms crossed.

          "Where is he?" Jack asked.

          "In there, waiting," she replied.

          Audra looked in the window.  "I don't see anyone."

          "You won't.  He's hiding over in the corner behind the door," Anita said, opening the door.  "We read him his rights and told him that it would be best if he speak with a lawyer present.  But he just kept shaking his head and looking around like he had no idea where he was."

          "Is he insane?" Jack asked.

          Anita smiled.  "You can find out for yourself.  He won't talk to Lennie or Ed," she replied.

          Audra opened the door, slamming the knob into Mr Maloney's ribcage.  "Sorry, didn't see you there," she said sarcastically as Jack walked in behind her.

          "Why are you changing your story about when and where you saw Danielle McGraw?" Jack asked as he sat down.

          "I'm not! I never saw that girl!  I have no idea who you're talking about!" Maloney yelled.

          "Mr Maloney, is somebody threatening you? Did someone put you up to this?" Audra asked.

          Maloney shook his head.  "Nobody told me to do anything," he said.

          "If someone did, we can protect you.  There's no reason to be afraid," Audra said, trying to coax something out of the man.

          He sighed.  "If I say anything, they'll kill me," he said, shaking his head.

          "Who?" Jack asked.

          "Her parents! They said that if I told the police that I was mistaken, then they would lose the case and Danielle would walk!" Maloney yelled, putting his face in his hands.

          Audra looked up at Jack, who looked from Maloney to her.  They were both shocked that McGraw's parents would go that far as to threaten a witness.


	6. Chapter 6

"What else did they tell you?" she asked.

Maloney looked at the table and sighed. "They told me that if I testified against their daughter, then they would hurt my family. I panicked!" he explained.

Jack sat back in his chair. "We'll have an officer outside your apartment and your office."

"Don't worry, Mr Maloney," Audra said. "Nothing is going to happen."

Maloney put his hands in his lap and sighed again. He slouched back in his chair; he looked like he was going to cry.

"We need to have a talk with this girl's parents. If they kill a witness or harm him in any way…" Audra said as she locked her office door.

"Then they also go to jail. They already committed a crime by just asking him to change his story around. We can hold them on that until they cave," Jack explained.

"But then what are we going to do once they _do_ cave? I mean, we can't just let them go on that charge. They should at least get some community service hours plugged into their busy schedule," Audra argued.

"They will. There's no way they're getting off on this," Jack said.

Audra put her back down on the elevator floor and pulled her black pea coat on over her shoulders. She leaned against the wall, thinking of something to say about the argument earlier that day.

"Look," Jack said quietly, "I know you don't agree with me on giving McGraw the death penalty. So I was thinking, maybe we could leave it up to a jury. We can tell the judge that we want the jury to decide on her punishment."

Audra smiled. "Funny, because I heard Arthur saying the same thing right after you stormed out of my office," she said. "Jack, I know you mean well. It's a good idea to leave it up to a jury. I'm just worried that they'll all swing to the side of the death penalty and then I'll feel really guilty for sending a young woman off to her death."

Jack nodded. "That's the problem with our jobs. The guilt trips we get sent on every day by fellow employees and the family members of the men and women we prosecute. They always send us on these major guilt trips that make our job that much more difficult," he explained.

"I'm taking this is from personal experience?" Audra asked.

"Yep; you have no idea how many times I've been called a heartless bastard for the amount of people I put on death row," Jack replied. "But why are you feeling guilty? You haven't killed anyone!"

Audra raised an eyebrow at her colleague. "You can't look me in the eye and tell me that you don't feel like you've killed someone every time they're sentenced to death row," she said solemnly.

Jack's eyes drifted down to the floor. "That's the way every prosecutor feels after a day in the court room," he replied to her honest statement. "Especially this one." He pulled his own jacket on and smiled sadly at Audra.

They stepped out of the elevator and into the empty lobby. A few assistants and secretaries were running around, trying to finish up a last minute job that would otherwise have to wait until tomorrow, when they would be twice as busy. Jack even saw his own secretary run past him to the elevator.

Audra buttoned up her coat as they stepped out onto the sidewalk. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then," she said, holding back a yawn.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Jack asked. "I have to catch a cab anyway."

Audra smiled. "What, no motorcycle today?" she said sarcastically.

"Nope," Jack replied. "Do you want me to?"

"Sure," Audra said, taking his hand as they walked down the empty sidewalk.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier," Jack said.

"I know you are. It happens with everyone. Don't worry about it," Audra said.

Jack nodded. "I know this is a little off topic, but you're not the only person I know who's had an encounter with rape in one way or another," he said quietly.

"Who else do you know that was born because of rape? Honestly?" Audra asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, she wasn't born because of it, but one of my other assistants, Abbie Carmichael," Jack replied. "We were dealing with a woman who was in jail and had been raped by a guard. One day, while we were doing some cross-examination for a trial, and the woman was on the stand. She freaked out."

"What happened?" Audra asked.

"She yelled at Abbie, asking her if she had ever been raped. You should have seen the look on Abbie's face," Jack continued. "So we were all finished with some questioning back at Riker's before her sentencing, and Abbie looked really stressed; I asked her what was wrong, and she told me how her date in college raped her and how she had blamed it all on herself. I felt real sympathy for her."

Audra nodded. "It's horrible. I talked to my mother twice this year, and both times she said that it was her fault. And I kept telling her that it wasn't, it wasn't her fault…I guess it's real hard to think about it not being your fault," she explained.

"How do you deal with it?" Jack asked.

Audra sighed. "I guess by remembering that I was a gift from God?" she said. "I really don't know how I do. I think my job helps, though." She smiled up at Jack. "This is my stop," she said, walking up the stairs of her apartment building. "Do you want to come up?" she asked as she pulled out her keys.

Inside, Jack wanted to say yes. He wanted to go upstairs with Audra, talk, kiss, whatever. Just to be with her. But he was tired, and upset about some things he had to get done tomorrow. "No, thanks," he replied. "I've got a lot to do…case work and everything. You know."  
Audra forced a smile. "Yeah, I know," she said, almost to herself. "Well, have a good weekend. I gave you the phone number for where I'll be tomorrow, right?" Jack nodded. "Ok, well, if anything comes up, just give me a call there," she said.

"Good night," Jack said, waving.

"'Night," she said. She opened the door and walked into the building, gone from sight. Jack sighed and walked down the street to the cab waiting for a fare to come by. He gave the driver directions to his house and stared up at Audra, who was watching him through the door of the apartment building.


	7. Chapter 7

"So, enjoying your weekend off?" Olivia asked as she pulled herself up a step on the rockwall.

          "Yeah.  I needed it after this week," Audra replied, pausing and hanging in the air to pull her hair out of her face for the second time.

          "Did you talk to Jack about lowering the sentence?" Olivia asked.

          Audra nodded as she reached for a purple handhold.  "We're leaving the sentencing up to the jury.  I don't know…I have a feeling that they're going to swing for death row over life," she explained.

          "Well, there's nothing more you can really do, huh?" Olivia asked.

          "Guess not.  But the girl's parents threatened our main witness.  He actually lied and told us that he never saw McGraw leave the hotel.  Made the end of the day very exciting," she explained.

          Olivia laughed.  "Yeah, that'll happen," she said.

          "How's everything over at SVU?" Audra asked.

          "It's going pretty well.  Elliot is taking some time off with Cathy and the kids, and Fin is still in the hospital.  So it's just me and John for another week," Olivia explained.

          "What happened to Fin?" Audra asked as they stopped to rest only a few feet from the top.

          "Got shot in the leg," Olivia replied.  "He's doing pretty well."

          "I'm going to buy him a card," Audra said, smiling.  "So you're stuck with the theory man all week?"

          "Yeah.  Munch is nice; I love him to death.  But the theories and conspiracies…god do they get annoying," Olivia replied.

          "I should get _you_ a card," Audra said.  "Ready to rappel back down?" she asked, looking to the floor below.

          Olivia nodded and they both pushed off the rockwall, flying back down to the ground.  A secretary ran up to them as they removed their equipment.

          "Audra Dalle?" she asked.

          "Yes?" Audra replied, pulling her harness off.

          "A Jack McCoy is on the phone.  He says it's urgent," the secretary replied.

          "Thanks," Audra said as she jogged over to the desk and took the phone from the woman holding it.  "Hello?"

          "_Hi, it's Jack_."

          "I know.  What's up?  Did you find something for--?"

          "_Can you meet me at 667 on 47th_?" Jack interrupted.

          "Yeah, no problem.  I'll be there in a few minutes.  Is everything alright?" Audra asked.  Olivia walked over and handed her a water bottle.

          "_Not really_," Jack replied.  He sounded like he had been crying.  "_Just be here soon, ok_?"

          "Don't worry, Jack.  I'll be there," Audra said.  She hung up the phone and pulled the cap off her water bottle and took a sip.

          "Where do you have to meet him? Olivia asked.

          "667 on 47th…isn't that…"

          "The cemetery?" Olivia finished.  "Yeah, it is.  I wonder why he wants to meet you there."

          Audra shrugged as they walked into the locker room.  "He sounded upset," she said.  "But who knows."

          Olivia nodded and opened her locker.  "Look, I know this is rude to ask, but is there something going on between you and Jack?" she asked quietly.

          Audra could feel the heat rushing over her face.  "I'm not really sure.  I've been asking myself the same question.  I'd like to think…" her voice trailed.  "I don't know."

          "Just curious," Olivia said as she pulled her work shirt on.

          Audra paid the cabbie and slammed the door shut, looking around nervously.  She never liked cemeteries; her friends had played one too many tricks on her in cemeteries during high school.

          The headstones gleamed with the afternoon sun, forcing Audra to shield her eyes as she looked for Jack.  She walked down the main road, hiking her bag over her shoulder.  She noticed a lone figure standing over a headstone, holding roses.  She walked slowly towards him.

          "Hi," she said quietly.  Jack barely took notice of her.  His eyes remained on the headstone, re-reading the words engraved upon it.  Audra looked at his face and saw tears.

          "Jack, what's wrong?" she asked, taking his hand.  He just kept staring at the headstone in silence.

          Audra looked at the headstone and read the engraving:

_Our Beloved Daughter_

_Claire__Kincaid___

The name struck a chord, but Audra couldn't exactly place where she had heard it.

          "She was beautiful, you know," Jack said softly.  "Bright, too…"

          "Who was she?" Audra asked.

          "My assistant from seven years ago.  Today was her birthday," Jack replied.

          Audra faintly remembered where she had seen the name.  In Jack's office, there was a bulletin board covered in newspaper clippings and photos.  She had also noticed one of the cards that people received when they went to a funeral or a wake.  Claire Kincaid was the name on the card.

          "I'm sorry," she said, resting her head on Jack's shoulder.

          "Lennie was driving her home from work, and their car was hit by a drunk driver.  Lennie survived, but Claire…" he turned and looked at Audra, his brown eyes welling up with tears.  Audra wrapped her arms around him; he hugged her tightly, quietly sobbing into her shoulder.

          Audra kissed his cheek and held back tears.  It must have been horrible, for both Jack and Lennie, having Claire die like that.

          "I just wish…" Jack said.  "I wish I could change the past."

          "We all do, Jack.  There's no wrong in that," Audra said calmly.  "You both loved each other, I can see that.  And its ok to still love her."

          "I know," Jack sobbed.  He turned back to the headstone and rested the dozen roses on the damp grass in front of it.  "It's just so hard to forget, that's all," he said, looking at Audra.

          "Come on," Audra said, offering her hand to him.

          "Where are we going?" Jack asked, taking her hand.

          Audra walked down the row of headstones, towing Jack along.  She stopped in front of a small grey Celtic cross.  "My father's grave," she said, pointing to it.  "He would have been fifty-four today."  A tear rolled down her cheek.

          Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulder.  "Have you come to visit often?" he asked.

          "I haven't been here in five years," Audra replied. "I just never got around to it."

          Jack nodded.  "I come here almost every year."

          "I wish I had come more often, then.  Maybe I would have met you a little sooner," she said, smiling up at him.

          Jack laughed.  "Yeah, you probably would have," he said.

          Audra crouched down and picked a dandelion from the ground, placing it lovingly on the patch of earth in front of her father's grave.

          "Come on, lets go get some lunch," Jack said, taking Audra's hand as they walked back towards 47th street.

          They walked towards Central Park, stopping to pick up two hot dogs and some soda.  They sat down in the small grove Jack had shown Audra only three days ago.

          "I guess that's why I didn't really know if I should get involved with you.  Your reputation," Audra explained, taking a bite of her hot dog.

          "Yeah, well, I can't blame you.  Everyone seems to know about it.  After Claire died, it seemed like there was no point in it anymore," Jack said.

          "No point in what?" Audra asked.

          "Well, it's nice to have someone who shares the same interests as you.  So obviously, work would be a good place to start," Jack explained.

          "I see where you're coming from," Audra said.  "Back in Boston, that's the whole reason I started dating my boss.  Then I found out he was married…"

          "That is one mistake I have yet to make," Jack said.

          Audra laughed and nodded.  She remembered a picture on Jack's desk that she couldn't place a name on.  "That picture next to the sailboat in your office, who is that?" she asked.

          "My daughter, Kate," Jack replied.  "From my first marriage.  She's on a class trip in Egypt right now.  She's majoring in ancient history."

          "That's neat," Audra said.  "How much longer is she going to be over there?"

          "Another week," Jack answered.  "I still can't believe I let her go, what with the war and everything.  But she can handle it.  She's an adult."

          "True.  But then again, you're a parent.  You're entitled to worry and care," Audra said, locking her arm through Jack's.

          "Good point," Jack said.  They walked through the park and over to Audra's street.

          "How do you think the trial will go on Monday?" she asked as they stopped outside her building.

          "Who knows, could go either way," Jack replied.

          Audra nodded, taking both of his hands in hers.  "Where are we, Jack?" she asked, looking up at him.

          "What do you mean?" Jack asked.

          "You and me.  Are we together, are we still just close friends…where are we together?" Audra asked, elaborating on her original question.

          Jack thought on the question for a moment, looking back at Audra.  He kissed her on the lips, hugging her tightly.  "I have no idea where we are," he said quietly.  "But then again, it's only been a week.  Maybe we should see where we are at the end of next week."

          Audra smiled.  "I like that answer," she said, kissing him back.  She looked up at the apartment.  "So…do you want to come in?"

          Jack looked up at the front door and then back at Audra, smiling.  "Sure."

--THE END--


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